A small but damaging tornado swept through Palmetto, Florida on Tuesday. Roughly 12 homes were damaged in the Tropic Isles mobile home community.
John and Nancy Kadlick were home when the tornado struck, the Herald Tribune reports. John Kadlick remembered a brief weather update. Suddenly he noticed the wind pick up and saw that the trees were swaying and a cloud of dust was swirling around the street.
"I didn't think anything of it," John Kadlick told the Herald Tribune. "I sat back in my chair, and the next thing I know, I had no roof. We're lucky we didn't get sucked up with it."
The tornado ripped apart 12 of the 55-plus mobile homes in the community by the tornado that struck at around 6:30 p.m.
"It ranges from minor to catastrophic damage," Michael Williamson, battalion chief for the North River Fire Department told the Herald.
There was only one injury reported. A person was treated at the scene after they were hit in the arm by some sort of debris.
Families have had to relocate after the tornado. The Red Cross is helping two of the families while other victims have made their own arrangements and are staying with friends and family members.
In addition to damaged houses, power lines fell down and palm trees snapped. The wind was strong enough to twist metal roofs, leaving them peeled back and disfigured. Insulation and other debris could be seen around the ground and some even landed on other homes.
"I didn't know what was happening," said Nancy Kadlick said. "Everything I have sitting out started going in a circle. I grabbed a pillow to put over my head and sank into the sofa. He just sat there and watched the roof blow away." Kadlick has lived in her mobile home for 10 years.
Other witnesses recalled hearing a loud pop, much like a gun.
Considering how much damage it did, the tornado only lasted for a few seconds, but there were other spouts that formed and never touched the ground.
Officials are assessing the damage and Red Cross representatives are meeting with families to help them with their immediate and long-term needs.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
